Ten time management tips for social media managers

Managing a social media portfolio is no simple task. With comments and reactions happening in real time, across all different time zones, a manager tasked with this has to be made of strong stuff. Time management is crucial to the smooth running of such an operation, as is planning. Without these, a social media manager could easily be overwhelmed, drowned in work that seems to have no office hours and end up quitting or burning out, neither of which are attractive options.

Here are some tips on managing your time as a social media manager:

Set goals for yourself that are time or deadline specific; achieving your goals in a day, week or month can be enormously satisfying and will motivate you as well as increase your productivity.

Devise a marketing plan for the year that draws on the brand or the mission and objectives of the business. This will help to identify your target audience and assist in shaping the content you need to create.

Try to schedule meetings and appointments for one or two days of the week – daily meetings at varying times during the day can be very disruptive when you need time blocks for writing and posting.

Work with a content calendar: this will help you see the big picture as it combines all the various elements of social media together in one place. There are many good and free calendars online. Include scheduling on your calendar so you know what needs posting where and when, so there are no last minute panics.

Focus your energy: distractions can lead to many hours wasted, so when tackling a task, do it properly. Put your phone on silent, close your email and close any windows that you do not need for the task at hand, especially chat windows.

Take notes: as a social media manager, you are constantly on the lookout for new ideas for content. If you see something or think of an idea when you’re not at your desk, write it down for later use.

Look at online tools to help you with your job: there are tools available to help with content generation (Scoop.it, Storify, TrapIt) and social media management (Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social).

Measure results: it is very difficult to know the success of a marketing strategy if you don’t measure results, in terms of returns or profitability. Dedicate a fixed time slot each month or week, to analyse results.

Use templates: these can save a lot of time and can guide less experienced staff very effectively. Especially good for content writing, a blog template can be used when asking employees to contribute to the website content.

Know when to ask for help: if you are getting out of your depth, or if things are mushrooming at a pace you cannot keep up with, it could be time to outsource, or get help from social media marketing experts.

WSI can offer you advice on the best ways to manage your social media

As a social media manager, it can be hard to separate your work life from your free time. Managing your time and sticking to your schedule will help to show the people you work with that you are not on call 24/7. WSI, a well established digital marketing company, can assist with all aspects of your social media marketing and much more. Check out their website or contact them today if you want to take control of your time and reap the rewards.